Secondary help needed against Air Force

The pressure is on San Diego State’s secondary this week to slow down Air Force and their vaunted triple-option rushing attack.

Under normal circumstances, it’s the defensive linemen and linebackers making the majority of the tackles. This week, look for increased productivity from the defensive backs and safeties.

“You always want to step up and make a play,” said safety Dey Juan Hemmings. “It doesn’t matter who you are playing, you have to be able to stop the run. That’s how you get to be an efficient defense.”

Through three games, the Aztecs have been middle of the road when stopping the run. They rank 66th nationally in run defense, but 27th in tackles for a loss. Air Force enters the contest boasting the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense.

“At its core it comes down to getting off blocks and making tackles,” said cornerbacks coach Tony White, a Rocky Long disciple, who played in the 3-3-5 under Long at UCLA and was his linebackers coach last year at New Mexico. "When your time is called, you make the play. That might be once or twice a game against a regular offense or 20 times a game against Air Force.”

Defensive coordinator Rocky Long has seen plenty of Air Force. When he was the head coach at New Mexico, he went 5-5 against the Falcons since the inception of the Mountain West Conference in 1999.

“They play a very similar defense, a 3-4,” Long said. “We get into a lot of the same defensive structure. They have practiced against what we do a whole bunch because they have a similar scheme. They have practiced against it in the spring and in the fall. We don’t every practice against what they do except the week of the game.”